Changes
by Miss x Massacre
Summary: Post Carlton graduation. Emmett leaves for LA, but shortly after Bay gets news that will change the course of both their lives forever. Can she deal?


**Title:** Changes  
 **Author:** Miss x Massacre  
 **Fandom:** Switched at Birth  
 **Pairing:** Emmett/Bay  
 **Summary:** Post Carlton graduation. Emmett leaves for LA, but shortly after Bay gets news that will change the course of both their lives forever. Can she deal?  
 **Author's Note:** Helloo, I'm Miss x Massacre. I am a former Instant Star fiction writer. This is the first one I have written and posted in a long time. This is also a different fandom, so I'm extremely anxious as I post this because I only hope that I can capture the characters as they are in the TV show. This story is titled after the song "Changes" by the band Stars, each Chapter will be a lyrics from the song. It might be slow to start and there won't be much Emmett at first, but have faith my dear readers. Please review! They give life to my stories. xo  
 **Disclaimer:** I don't own nuthin…not even my car, yet.

* * *

 _Changes  
Chapter 1: _This Time in Between the Day & the Night

Bay stood at her front door, waving as Emmett rode away on his motorcycle for the last time. Within six hours he would be boarding a plane that would take him 2,000 miles away to Los Angeles. And though she'd been the one to make the decision to take the fall for Daphne and take the subsequent charges that followed, she still was burning inside that she wouldn't be able to join her boyfriend on the West Coast. She knew he was burning up about it, too. He barely acknowledged Daphne over the summer.

And now he was leaving without her.

Not that she expected him to stay with her.

Well, she did, but she also knew it wasn't a real possibility for him to piss away his future just because she did.

She was a convicted felon, now. A hardened criminal…or so the Kansas City court systems thought.

Little did they know she could barely bring herself for petty theft like her other friends had been into at Buckner. Rich as they were they stole. Everyone likes a little excitement now and then.

She watched until his headlights disappeared, leaning on her door while fantasies of them in LA together danced before her eyes.

' _Only a couple of months… a couple of months and the stars will align and we will be together._ ' She thought to herself as she slowly pushed the door shut.

"Oh, honey!" Kathryn exclaimed from the kitchen as she wandered through the dining room into the kitchen. "I have a couple snacks here if you're hungry."

Kathryn had been trying so hard to keep Bay's spirits up. She'd bought her extra canvasses, paints, clothes…anything that would show her smile. If Emmett wasn't there, Bay looked miserable and she had every right to because of the situation at hand, but something had to give.

"Oh…. No thanks, Mom." She said as she snatched a grape from the fruit basket on the counter. "I'm not all that hungry."

"Are you sure I can't possibly interest you in a lemon bar or a brownie?" She said, gesturing to the plates piled high with baked goods.

Bay shook her head. "I'm sure. I gotta watch my girlish figure if I'm gonna fit in that orange jumpsuit tomorrow!" The sarcasm was spread thick as she pointed finger guns at her mom.

"Community service starts tomorrow, right." Kathryn said, picking a lemon bar up and taking a nibble. "Do you want me to drive you?"

Bay laughed wryly. "Mom, this isn't the first day of school." She rolled her eyes, leaning against the counter. "How am I gonna keep up my hardened criminal act if they see my mommy dropping me off?"

"So, no lunch either then?"

" _Mom._ " Bay gave her a look. "I'll be fine…trust me."

"Alright, honey, but the offer still stands if you want it."

Bay nodded and smiled tightly. "Thanks, Mom." She said, walking around the breakfast bar to wrap her arms around the woman who raised her. "I love you."

Kathryn circled her arms around Bay's smaller frame, holding her tight to her chest. "I love you, too, honey."

When they parted and Bay sauntered up to her room for the night, Kathryn stood in the kitchen and gazed off as her mind replayed the last couple of years in her head. Bay had grown up so much, no longer was she the spoiled, Buckner brat that many had claimed she was for years. Now, walking away and starting community service tomorrow, Bay was a smart, bilingual young woman with a beautiful spirit. Though the Pratt declination was a hard hit, Kathryn knew that Bay would be able to accomplish whatever she set her mind to.

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The Next Night...

' _How was your first day?_ ' Emmett signed as they video chatted after her first official day in community service. They'd discussed his first classes where it was obvious he would need an interpreter. He kept thinking he could do this on his own, but it was only the first day and already he was feeling defeated.

"It sucked." She said as she stuck her tongue out as she signed the word 'sucked'. "The people… _suck._ The job… _sucks._ Oh, and did I mention…? It _sucks_!"

' _It will get better._ ' He signed, hoping to lift her spirits. He hated seeing her so miserable and unable to do anything from 2,000 miles away. ' _And before you know it you'll be boarding a plane to LA._ '

"I just hope I can last that long." Bay slumped over with a frown on her face. "I miss you _so, so_ much."

' _I miss you too, Bay. We will be together soon._ '

"Not soon enough." She yawned unexpectedly, giving Emmett a mouthful as she didn't have a chance to cover her mouth. "I'm gonna go to bed…I'm _so_ tired and 7 a.m. comes early."

He nodded, understanding she needed her beauty sleep. A tired, cranky Bay was no fun and Emmett felt the need to spare those who did community service with her. They both signed ' _I love you_ ' to one another and as soon as Bay's head hit the pillow – she was asleep.

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A/N: Slow to start, guys! I'm sorry this was short, but it will get better as time goes on - or so I hope you'll think. The community service part will continue a bit as the show did (ie: the drama with Tess, tension with Emmett, etc.), but will veer off as chapters go on. I'm hoping to post the next 2 chapters within the span of this week as I already have everything planned up to Chapter 7. Please bear with me! And as much as I hate to beg...please _review!_


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